Incan Empire
Afghanistan Opium Production
October 1347, the Europeans were greeted with the black plague which wiped out about one third of the whole population in Europe nearly 20 million people. (History) Far before that in about 3400 B.C. the cultivation of the new age plague was being planted by the Mesopotamians which is known today as Opium. Present day, Afghanistan controls nearly 90% of all opium growth and distribution which is a $65 billion market. (Sites) Opium is a dried condescended form of poppy juice which has a narcotic effect and if used in large doses it may be poisonous. Opium is most popularly found in Heroin, which is a street drug that was once used to sedate soldiers in war. Today Heroin controls the lives about 15 million addicted users worldwide, and in Afghanistan alone about 1 million users. This is due to the availability and cheap price of the drug throughout Afghanistan. (Sites). Just in the past three years Afghanistan’s poppy industry began resurfacing. And with Afghanistan’s ever increasing cultivation of the opiate producing poppy plant, we are seeing the effects of the cultivation and drug use getting worse. Thus making Afghanistan the biggest opium producer today. Addiction is a common thread for mankind everybody craves some form of something. Ranging from that cup of coffee you drink every morning to the television programs you watch at night, there’s always a void that needs tending too. In Afghanistan however, the voids they face differ greatly from most Americans. Notoriously known for their rap sheet of wars the people of Afghanistan have been plagued by terrorism and the failure of their government for years. Creating a poverty ridden war traumatized environment for people to live in. Causing voids we as American’s so much take for granted such as income, clean water, and food. These everyday burdens have a heavy toll on the physical and mental well-being of many. Belittling them to succumb to the control of the pain killing
October 1347, the Europeans were greeted with the black plague which wiped out about one third of the whole population in Europe nearly 20 million people. (History) Far before that in about 3400 B.C. the cultivation of the new age plague was being planted by the Mesopotamians which is known today as Opium. Present day, Afghanistan controls nearly 90% of all opium growth and distribution which is a $65 billion market. (Sites) Opium is a dried condescended form of poppy juice which has a narcotic effect and if used in large doses it may be poisonous. Opium is most popularly found in Heroin, which is a street drug that was once used to sedate soldiers in war. Today Heroin controls the lives about 15 million addicted users worldwide, and in Afghanistan alone about 1 million users. This is due to the availability and cheap price of the drug throughout Afghanistan. (Sites). Just in the past three years Afghanistan’s poppy industry began resurfacing. And with Afghanistan’s ever increasing cultivation of the opiate producing poppy plant, we are seeing the effects of the cultivation and drug use getting worse. Thus making Afghanistan the biggest opium producer today. Addiction is a common thread for mankind everybody craves some form of something. Ranging from that cup of coffee you drink every morning to the television programs you watch at night, there’s always a void that needs tending too. In Afghanistan however, the voids they face differ greatly from most Americans. Notoriously known for their rap sheet of wars the people of Afghanistan have been plagued by terrorism and the failure of their government for years. Creating a poverty ridden war traumatized environment for people to live in. Causing voids we as American’s so much take for granted such as income, clean water, and food. These everyday burdens have a heavy toll on the physical and mental well-being of many. Belittling them to succumb to the control of the pain killing
Bibliography: 1. "Black Death." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2013. 2. Sites, Kevin. "Afghanistan 's Opium Plague." VICE. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2013. 3. PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2013. 4. Norland, Rod. "Opium Production in Afghanistan." Ny Times, n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2013 5. ZAFAR, MORWARI 6. "Afghanistan." WHO. World Health Organization, n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013 7. United Nations 8. Lighter, Gwen. "Looking for the Reset Button in Afghan Opium Fields." The Moscow Times. N.p., 18 Nov. 2013. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. 9. Opium Brides. Dir. Najibullah Quraishi. PBS. PBS, 03 Jan. 2012. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. . 10. Holzehu, Nicolas. Addict Smokes Heroin off Tinfoil. [Online image]. Flickr.com. Winter 2010. Thurs 16 Nov. 2013 11. Howard-Gibbon, J.A